Good morning Birdland,
There was no baseball yesterday, and it seems like the Orioles avoided stepping on yet another rake. So, there is little content on which to blog. But we will prevail!
There will be a decisive Game 5 in the ALDS this evening. The White Sox and Guardians will face off at 8 p.m. in Cleveland. TBS/HBO Max has the broadcast.
University of Maryland product Sean Burke will start for the ChiSox. He was quite good this season (11-7, 3.34 ERA, 172.1 IP, 4.2 bWAR). What has allowed him
to excel? Well, according to Burke himself: “This is my life. I don’t have family, no girl, no kids. This is all I do.” I suppose that does give you more time to hone your craft…but, like, are you going OK, Sean?
Burke later clarified that he didn’t literally mean he had no family. In fact, a bunch of them celebrated on the field with him when the White Sox clinched the playoffs. Rather, he seems to have meant that he doesn’t have a current long-term romantic relationship or kids. He gave an individual shoutout to his mom, so I would bet she in particular did not love the quote. Probably good that he got all of that sorted out before Thanksgiving rolls around next month.
Back to the baseball. My rooting interests are with the White Sox tonight. If they win, that will mean it is a White Sox/Rays ALCS, two teams that the Orioles had winning records against this season. It just feels fitting that this mediocre American League yields a World Series representative that our frustratingly sub-par favorite team handled in the regular season and yet it was the rest of the field that gave them so much trouble. It could be you guys out there!
Links
Sonny Gray Plans To Pitch In 2027 | MLB Trade Rumors
This is not Orioles-related, but it could be! We know Mike Elias loves to sign old starting pitchers. Gray seems to prefer East Coast teams. And he has said he wants to win a World Series. Now, let’s admit that the Orioles are NOT the team you think of when dreaming about the postseason, but maybe they could be? Gray had a 2.72 ERA over 169 innings in 2026. He has thrown 166 innings or more in four straight seasons.
How Cowser believes he can return to form for O’s in ’27 | Orioles.com
Ah yes, Colton Cowser, the topic of the rift between Jim Palmer and Craig Albernaz. He is a player that will be under the microscope a bit in 2027. His glove is so good that he needs to be in the lineup pretty much everyday regardless of matchup, but he has serious trouble with left-handed pitching. They should try to fix that.
Taking another look at the bullpen | Roch Kubatko
This is one area of the team that feels pretty good going into the offseason. They should not just assume they will continue to ascend in 2027, but it’s a good starting point. At the very least, Félix Bautista, Ryan Helsley, and Yennier Cano should be a solid veteran trio you can trust most nights. Rico Garcia should have his spot as well. They probably need to go find a lefty that they feel similarly about, though Josh Walker and Grant Wolfram have their backers.
Kyle Goon: Are the Orioles listening? Their fans think they aren’t. | The Banner
The Orioles have not been a winning baseball team for two full seasons now, and they completely fell apart back in 2024. Meanwhile, Elias has gotten a promotion and spoken about making his department bigger this offseason, the new owner who has presided over the losing is writing books about being an owner, and the employees that actually make Camden Yards an enjoyable experience have gotten fired. So yeah, it doesn’t feel fair, and the Orioles should have some sense of that when they make these decisions.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Luis Vázquez turns 27 today. The utility infielder has emerged in Baltimore occasionally in each of the last two seasons, though he played in just one game in 2026.
- Nick Vespi is 31 years old. He pitched out of the Orioles bullpen for parts of three seasons from 2022 through ‘24, compiling a 3.88 ERA over 53.1 total innings.
- The late Gordie Sundin (b. 1937, d. 2016) was born on this day. He pitched in one big league game, which took place with the Baltimore Orioles in 1956.
This day in O’s history
1979 – The Orioles score five runs in the first inning of Game 1 of the World Series, and cling onto those runs in order to prevail 5-4 over the Pirates.
1996 – The O’s even up the ALCS at one game apiece with a 5-3 win over the Yankees. Rafael Palmeiro hits a seventh inning homer to help lock down the victory.
2012 – Raul Ibańez, who pinch hits for a struggling Alex Rodriguez in the bottom of the ninth inning, goes on to hit two key home runs. First, he smacks a game-tying homer off of Orioles closer Jim Johnson in that ninth inning, and then hits a walk-0ff solo shot in the 12th inning off of Brian Matusz to give the Yankees a 3-2 win in Game 3 of the ALDS.
2014 – The O’s drop Game 1 of the ALCS to the Royals 8-6 in extra innings. The Royals score three runs on two homers in the top of the 10th inning to pave the way toward a win.
2023 – The Orioles get swept out of the ALDS by the eventual champion Texas Rangers. Dean Kremer gets knocked around early, while Nathan Eovaldi dominated the Baltimore lineup.
